Influencer Outreach is here to stay. And when used appropriately this marketing strategy can drive engagement like no other (with the exception of video - but then again, someone has to be introduced to that video, right?)

So, what’s the difference between the brands who love Influencer Outreach and the brands who hate it?

The brands who love Influencer Outreach know how to measure the results and since they know how to measure, they have an easier time picking (and paying) for influencers that will actually drive engagement, traffic, and ultimately convert into paying customers.

That being said, what are the most effective ways to actually measure Influencer Outreach?

Here are our four easiest ways to effectively measure these campaigns in way that makes it simple to keep recreating influencer-generated sales and success. Keep in mind, when it comes to measuring ROI on Influencer Outreach campaigns, you’ll want to use more than one approach!

Hashtag Promotions

Creating unique hashtags for influencer campaigns that debut via Instagram and Twitter is a no-brainer way to track engagement and brand mentions that span beyond simple post reach. Catchy, creative hashtags make these stats easier to track. Consider investing in a tool like Hootsuite that automatically tallies mentions and hashtags, so your intern isn’t stuck counting brand mentions for two weeks straight.

Remember, blog posts tend to get better reach over time (much like a fine wine!) so tracking the longevity of each post several months after the campaign has ended is a great way to measure those coveted long-tail benefits.

Participation + Social Engagement

Just like measuring a homegrown social campaign, tracking individual likes, shares, comments and measuring each post’s individual engagement will give you a great idea on just how much new brand awareness the campaign generated.

These numbers are generally the highest, the most impressive and they act like the canary in the coal mine.

This means they give the most information on what content worked the best to engage the most people, so it can be easily duplicated for look-alike audiences and influencers.

Tell us about your latest influencer outreach campaign! What did you love about it? What would you like to improve? If you did measure the results, what did you find to work the best for you and were you happy with the ROI?